Library crosswalk "temporary" safety fix

Driving down 1st Street, you may notice a new set of flashing yellow lights. The lights are part of a temporary crosswalk, aimed to keep you safe while the library is housed at First and Gunnison.

The Transportation and Engineering Office was getting phone calls saying crossing the street there was dangerous, and that's exactly why the crosswalk was put in.

"Some people don't really see us, and they'll just keep going on by," West Middle School student Sarah said. "It's been busier and kind of scarier."

The city said the crosswalk isn't necessarily the final solution to safety in the area, but while the library is there, it provides a temporary fix.

"The staff went out, took a look at the situation, and said, 'well, we can make some improvements,' and they are temporary, so they went ahead and striped a crosswalk. They put some delineators, and they put a flashing light," Kristin Winn with Public Works and Planning said.

Winn said the crosswalk will most likely disappear when the library moves back to its old location, but for now, pedestrians say they're feeling much safer.

"You had to wait quite a while to get an opening, then you kind of had to scoot across,” Lewis Bowen, who visits the Central Library four times a week, said. "(Now) we go to cross it; the cars stop; it works out great."

Library officials also said that so far, the crosswalk is a hit.

"We have a lot of patrons on this temporary location who have to cross 1st Street on foot to get here, and this has worked out really great for them," Bob Kretschman with the library said.

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